Public Schools Chancellor Announced as CC Class Speaker

Joel Klein, CC '67 and chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, will speak at this year's Columbia College Class Day, scheduled for May 19.

As the head of the largest public school system in the country, Klein oversees more than 1,400 schools and 1.1 million students. In this role, he has often found himself at the center of controversial moves to improve students' test scores, some of which have drawn praise from—or for—Mayor Michael Bloomberg and some of which have been criticized by parents and principals who contend there are other ways to measure a student's or school's progress.

Klein has spoken at Columbia at least three times. The Columbia College Student Council announced its choice at a launch party at Havana Central Wednesday night, called for 10:30 p.m. Shortly after 11 p.m., CCSC members used Havana Central's screen to show a video revealing the speaker's identity. In the video, each class council representative lauded Klein's connection to New York. "I want someone who is almost like a rebel," said Neda Navab, president of the class of 2008.

While loud music and free drinks built an ambience of expectation, one student called the decision "anticlimactic," and most students polled said they did not recognize the name.

"I don't know anything about him," said Joe Rubinstein, CC '08.

"I have no idea who he is," concurred Ryan Tai, SEAS '08.

"I'm an urban studies major, and I think I'm the only person in the room who has ever heard of him," said PJ Berg, CC '08. "They had a launch party for this?" However, Berg added that he was "excited" to hear Klein speak because he also hopes to work in New York City government.

Navab said Klein's devotion to education made him a particularly attractive candidate for a speech directed to college graduates. "We wanted him to definitely be an alumni, not an affiliate or parent," she said.

"The affiliation to New York was very important to our class council," she added. "We were not as concerned about name recognition."

Navab also said that New York Governor David Paterson and journalist Matthew Cooper were among the council's top five choices.

“Mr. Klein exemplifies in his career the principles of leadership, creative thinking, and public service that we all value at Columbia,” College Dean Austin Quigley said in a press release. “We are honored that Mr. Klein has accepted our invitation to address the students, families and faculty of the College at our most important annual ceremony.”

"In 2003 he implemented 'Children First,' a comprehensive reform program that has markedly improved the availability, quality and safety of public education in New York City," the release stated.

According to the Columbia press release, Klein was chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, Inc. prior to his appointment as chancellor in 2002. From 1997 to 2001, Klein served as U.S. assistant attorney general, leading the Antitrust Division. He was also deputy counsel to President Clinton from 1993 to 1995.

"During his tenure, Klein led several landmark antitrust cases and was credited with the successful transformation of the Antitrust Division during the Clinton Administration," according to the release.

The CC Class Day speaker must be affiliated with the Columbia College community in some way. Alumni, faculty, or family of students are all eligible to speak. Actor Matthew Fox, CC '89 and a former wide receiver on the Lions' football team, spoke last year. The year before that saw U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose daughter graduated from Columbia in 2007.

While McCain's visit set off small protests—students passed out 100 umbrellas and 800 buttons reading "McCain does not speak for me"—Fox was seen as a dubious choice given his comparative obscurity. Fox's speech was ultimately well-received and seen as surprisingly charming, as he acknowledged the public skepticism surrounding his speech and challenged the graduating class to follow their passions and retain their autonomy. "How much of what you've done up until this point has been entirely your idea?" he asked at the time.

In 2005, Robert Kraft, CC '63, former chair of the University's board of trustees, and owner of the New England Patriots, was the Class Day speaker. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, CC '78, spoke in 2004.

Jacob Schneider contributed reporting to this article.